www.powerprogram.org

PLAN ORGANIZE WORK EDUCATION RESPECT

Helping to mentor train educate employ and empower

inner city men & women into becoming positive productive members of society"

TIPS & INFORMATION.

New MBK Alliance Identifies Mentoring as Critical to Opportunity and Achievement

Diane Quest, Senior Director of External Affairs

This week, President Obama announced the launch of the MBK Alliance, a nonprofit charged with carrying forward the vision set forth in the My Brother’s Keeper initiative to address disparities and barriers to opportunity and achievement for boys and young men of color. MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership is proud to serve as an MBK Alliance Partner along with National League of Cities, Opportunity Youth Network, PolicyLink, Strive Together, United Way, and Urban Institute. MENTOR will assist communities in integrating mentoring as a critical component in their overall strategy to close support and opportunity gaps for young people of color.

In his announcement, the President said he and the First Lady will remain committed to this issue now and for the rest of their lives, sending a clear message about the enduring purpose of the new Alliance and the complexity of the issues it seeks to address. While the solutions are also complex, mentoring has been identified as a key asset that can drive success in a young person’s life, particularly when the relationship is supported through a quality mentoring program. As highlighted in the White House report one-year anniversary of the My Brother’s Keeper initiative, communities across the country are initiating MBK mentoring efforts, including Boston, New York City, Chicago, and Lansing, Michigan.

The MBK Alliance will build on the momentum created by the My Brother’s Keeper initiative by focusing on sustainable, long-term, and effective engagement based on four key factors:

Catalyzing Place-Based Change to help spark localized change and spread impactful practices throughout the country.

Creating Aligned Action to unite cross-sector actors around a common agenda for BYMOC with measurable targets.

Generating Commitments to spur new capital and engage the private sector to deliver impactful talent policies.

Our goal as an MBK Alliance Partner will be to help communities harness existing infrastructure and expertise to maximize the impact of mentoring efforts improve support systems and community connections.

The MBK Alliance has great potential to impact change with the collaboration and strong support from the Administration, nonprofit partners, philanthropy and the private sector.

MENTOR has advised the My Brother’s Keeper initiative since its launch in February 2014, including the President’s task force, which identified mentoring as one of the critical tools proven to support young people. Yet the report recognized that, based on MENTOR’s recent survey that found one in three young people will reach adulthood without a mentor, it is a tool that we must scale.

More About My Brother’s Keeper

In February 2014, President Obama launched the My Brother’s Keeper initiative with philanthropy and the private sector to address persistent opportunity gaps faced by boys and young men of color. The goal is to ensure that all young people who are willing to do the hard work to get ahead can reach their full potential — using proven tools and focusing on key moments in their lives where we can help make a difference. The President established an interagency task force that published a report examining statistics, research, government programs and policies and community-based efforts related to the opportunities and challenges of young and boys of color.

The task force identified mentoring as one of the critical tools proven to support young people. Yet recognized that, based on MENTOR’s recent survey that found one in three young people will reach adulthood without a mentor, it is a tool that is underutilized.

As the unifying champion for expanding quality youth mentoring, MENTOR served as an advisor to inform the task force recommendation to address this mentoring gap by launching a public-private campaign to actively recruit high-quality, sustained mentors for all youth and improve the quality of mentoring programs. The recommendation includes five key priorities that would result in increased public and private engagement and investments in evidence-based mentoring, innovation, research and recruitment (read about the five priorities).

The task force also identified five universal milestones that are key to a young person’s healthy development and successful transition into adulthood, including:

Entering school ready to learn

Reading at grade level by third grade

Graduating high school ready for college and career

Successfully entering the workforce

Reducing violence and providing a second chance

As the report recognized, MENTOR’s research builds on a base of evidence that shows that mentoring relationships, when supported by quality programs using evidence-based practices, are known to produce positive outcomes that support young people in achieving each of these milestones.

The President’s first call-to-action in response to the task force report was for Americans to improve support and opportunity by pledging to become a mentor.

McDonald's closing hundreds of stores worldwide to save money"

McDonald's is closing hundreds of stores globally in an attempt to regain profits.

Wikimedia Commons by Sam Smith

McDonald's announced on Wednesday that it plans to shut down hundreds of stores this year around the world. The McDonald's Corporation has been the largest fast food hamburger chain since it was founded more than 60 years ago. But according to new CEO Steve Easterbrook, McDonald's must embrace change and try to profit once again from being in the negative for the last three months. Time.com reported on April 22 that at least 700 stores worldwide are getting the axe this year.

Just in the U.S. so far this year, McDonald's has lost 11 percent in total revenues. With healthier eating becoming a popular trend, McDonald's is looking to improve food quality with healthier chicken and close the worst performing stores mainly in the United States, China and Japan in order to boost profits. Easterbrook said more details on the plan to save the hamburger giant will be revealed on May 4.

Other fast food restaurants have seen an increase in sales after making drastic changes. According to CBS Boston, Taco Bell had a 6 percent increase in 2015 first quarter sales simply by adding a breakfast menu. Most of McDonald's current sales come from their breakfast hours. All-day breakfast is currently being tested at nearly 100 McDonald's restaurants in California.

McDonald's is an American icon and currently operates over 30,000 stores in 119 countries. Easterbrook, who became CEO in March, is serious about keeping McDonald's number one, saying, "As the world's leading restaurant company, we are evolving to be more responsive to today's customer." His plan ultimately may not include the wage increase McDonald's recently announced. McDonald's Holding president and other directors will likely see a decrease in pay due to hundreds of stores closing.

In 2014, McDonald's sales fell for the first time in 17 years. Some nostalgic supporters say that McDonald's just needs to rewind time and go back to their roots when they appealed to kids with the bright, colorful atmosphere and original Happy Meals. Amidst their current financial turmoil, McDonald's also announced Wednesday on their Facebook page plans for a new environmental sustainability framework that includes increasing store energy efficiency and recycling

President Obama - Helping Small Businesses Expand

President Obama presented the details behind one of his State of the Union initiatives: to make it easier for small businesses to raise money and to grow. Most of the president's initiatives fall into two camps: those that change the nature of what it means to be a public company, and nick-and-tuck adjustments that aren't going to make a huge difference for small businesses.

The first set of rules, which would make it easier for small companies to raise money, is by far the most promising. These efforts already have some bipartisan support, but this Congress is hardly known for its ability to cooperate. And while some entrepreneurs will no doubt welcome the tax cuts, they're not going to make a huge difference.

Sites such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo have proven that crowdfunding is a viable way for small companies to raise money. But existing regulations make it almost impossible for entrepreneurs to offer shares to individuals who aren't wealthy. Entrepreneurs who use Kickstarter to launch their company instead offer t-shirts, ad space, discounts, and whatever else they can come up with. Making it easier for entrepreneurs to actually sell shares could change the ecosystem. The Obama administration is calling for a 'framework' to allow this--but that's something that's not going to happen immediately.

Similarly, big regulations can take effect when companies raise more than $5 million. The president would raise that ceiling to $50 million. And after companies do go public, the president wants to have public-company regulations kick in gradually rather than all at once, to make going public a bit less onerous. All of these initiatives could really help small companies raise the money they need to grow.

Tax cuts that won't matter

Then there are the tax cuts. The first, which is actually a tax credit for job-creation, is highly unlikely to persuade any business owner to make additional hires that they wouldn't have already made. It's just too much work to bring a new hire on board, never mind letting them go if it doesn't work out. And financially, the tax credit doesn't help that much: The president wants to give employers a 10 percent tax credit for new hires, but then the business will have to pay about 7.5 percent in payroll taxes for that same employee (not including unemployment tax). The only thing that will make business owners start hiring is stronger demand for their goods and services.

The president also wants to expand the range of "key" investments in small businesses that are exempt from capital gains tax. This would make a similar provision, enacted in 2010, permanent. This will only be meaningful if the range of eligible investments is dramatically expanded. Currently, the investment has to be in a business structured as a C corporation. Given that all 50 states have passed LLC legislation, that excludes a lot of businesses. Businesses that rely upon the skill of the owner don't make the cut either, which means entire industries such as financial services, consulting, and engineering are excluded. Plus, the exemptions from capital gains apply to those who invest in small companies--which is not necessarily the entrepreneur.

The other tax cuts are more straightforward: Letting business owners deduct $10,000 (rather than $5,000) in start-up expenses, and allowing business-owners to take 100 percent depreciation on some equipment in the first year.

Then there's the president's proposal to add $1 billion to the amount of federal funding available to SBICs, or Small Business Investment Companies. SBICs invest money in small companies, and do a pretty good job of channeling that funding to low-income areas or minority or women entrepreneurs. In 2011, 34 percent of SBIC investments went to companies that fit one of those descriptions. These investments have a great track record of repayment. Why argue with this one?

2013 Xerox Scholarship Program to Give Away $10,000 Scholarships to Minority Students

Nationwide (June 22, 2013) -- Xerox is committed to the academic success of all minority students. That's why they are offering a Technical Minority Scholarship that awards between $1,000 and $10,000 to qualified minorities enrolled in a technical degree program at the bachelor level or above.

To apply, students must be enrolled as a full time undergraduate or graduate student with one of the following majors. Chemistry, Computing & Software Systems, Information Management, Material Science, Printing Management Science, Laser Optics, Physics, Material Science, and Engineering.

The scholarship is available to US Citizens and individuals with Permanent Resident visas. The scholarship is not available to spouses and children of Xerox employees.

There are tons of financial assistance programs available to entrepreneurs and business owners in the United States. Eligibility varies, but there are enough opportunities for everyone to pursue. You just have to be diligent, persistent, and consistent in your quest.

Below, you will find 10 great suggestions on how to apply for and obtain funding for your business:

1) Check With Your Local Government Agencies. Many cities, counties, and states give away money to local businesses. Why? Because they want you to create jobs and more tax revenue. Many times they won't highly publicize these opportunities, but it's in your best interest to give them a call and/or search their web sites.

2) Check With Federal Government Agencies. The federal government doesn't give grants directly to businesses, but they do give money to foundations who in turn can give money to small businesses. The federal agency in charge of this is the Grants Program Management Office, and all of their opportunities are listed publicly online.

3) Check With Major Corporations. Nearly every major corporation in this country has a foundation that gives away grants to enhance communities, and many of these are grants to start or expand a business.

4) Search The Internet. Use Google and Yahoo to conduct a search using the term "business grants". You can even throw in the name of your city, county, state, etc. Carefully review the results, and look for web sites that other web sites are linked to. Doing so, will help you to find opportunities that may be casually listed on a blog or some type of directory. You may even come across a recent news article about a new opportunity.

5) Ask Around. When attending professional networking functions and social mixers, never hesitate to ask people that you meet about new opportunities. Many times, small business grants are given away to people who happen to be in the right place at the right time. Never underestimate the importance of creating a relationship with a power player and his/her associates.

6) Visit Your Local Library. Contrary to popular belief, libraries are still an excellent resource and store a lot of information that is not accessible in other places. Go to your library as soon possible; look for grant books and directories and ask specific questions to your librarian. You'll be surprised what you can find.

YOUNG BLACK MILLIONAIRE SETS SALES RECORD WITH NEW BOOK RELEASE, OFFERS SPECIAL BOOK SAMPLE

Atlanta, GA (BlackNews.com) -- On the heels of winning a competitive bid for a $40 million project, Kevin D. Johnson, president and CEO of Johnson Media Inc., releases his book entitled The Entrepreneur Mind: 100 Essential Beliefs, Characteristics, and Habits of Elite Entrepreneurs. The book, which reached a company record of 1,276 pre-order sales, shares secrets to thinking like top entrepreneurs and achieving business success.

The release of The Entrepreneur Mind comes at a time when millions of Americans are opting to find the American Dream through entrepreneurship. According to a recent report from the Kauffman Foundation, a leading nonprofit that promotes entrepreneurship, the percentage of Americans starting businesses in 2010 and 2009 was the highest in 15 years. The Entrepreneur Mind will help these new entrepreneurs as well as advanced entrepreneurs achieve success and sustainability. Moreover, the book is already being used at colleges and universities, including Plymouth University in the United Kingdom.

Providing a fresh and unique approach to entrepreneurship, The Entrepreneur Mind gives readers 100 essential ways of thinking that lead to a high level of business success. Through the conviction of Johnson's own personal experience running a multimillion-dollar company and the compelling stories of modern-day business tycoons like Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook) and Sara Blakely (Spanx), he transforms an oftentimes complex topic into a lucid, accessible, and practical one. Areas covered are Strategy, Education, People, Finance, Marketing and Sales, Leadership, and Motivation. Lessons include:

* How to think big* Who makes the best business partners* What captivates investors* When to abandon a business idea* Where to avoid opening a business bank account* Why elite entrepreneurs create new markets

"I strongly believe that entrepreneurs are made, not born. If you study and adopt the ways of thinking of the best entrepreneurs and then turn your thoughts into actions, you have a formula for winning in business. Essentially, The Entrepreneur Mind is that formula. Based on the overwhelming response from segments shared online and amazing pre-order sales, this book will help and inspire many more," Johnson stated.

Beginning on Tuesday, March 5, 2013, the book is available on Amazon.com, in Barnes & Noble, and via the book's official web site and blog at www.TheEntrepreneurMind.com. Customers who purchase the book from the official web site receive a discount and a personalized signed copy of the book. To download a PDF sample of the book, visit www.theentrepreneurmind.com/booksample.pdf

About The Author:Kevin D. Johnson, 33, founder of Johnson Media Inc. and a serial entrepreneur, has over thirteen years of experience leading his multimillion-dollar marketing and communications company that serves many Fortune 100 businesses. As an innovative leader and dynamic speaker, he has appeared on CNN, ABC's Good Morning America, CBS, Oprah Radio, and in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. He lives in Atlanta, Georgia with his wife and son.

8 Things Remarkably Successful People Do

The most successful people in business work differently. See what they do--and why it works.

1. They don't create back-up plans.

Back-up plans can help you sleep easier at night. Back-up plans can also create an easy out when times get tough.

You'll work a lot harder and a lot longer if your primary plan simply has to work because there is no other option. Total commitment--without a safety net--will spur you to work harder than you ever imagined possible.

If somehow the worst does happen (and the "worst" is never as bad as you think) trust that you will find a way to rebound. As long as you keep working hard and keep learning from your mistakes, you always will.

2. They do the work...

You can be good with a little effort. You can be really good with a little more effort.

But you can't be great--at anything--unless you put in an incredible amount of focused effort.

Scratch the surface of any person with rare skills and you'll find a person who has put thousands of hours of effort into developing those skills.

There are no shortcuts. There are no overnight successes. Everyone has heard about the 10,000 hours principle but no one follows it... except remarkably successful people.

Every extremely successful entrepreneur I know (personally) works more hours than the average person--a lot more. They have long lists of things they want to get done. So they have to put in lots of time.

Better yet, they want to put in lots of time.

If you don't embrace a workload others would consider crazy then your goal doesn't mean that much to you--or it's not particularly difficult to achieve. Either way you won't be remarkably successful.

4. They avoid the crowds.

Conventional wisdom yields conventional results. Joining the crowd--no matter how trendy the crowd or "hot" the opportunity--is a recipe for mediocrity.

Remarkably successful people habitually do what other people won't do. They go where others won't go because there's a lot less competition and a much greater chance for success.

5. They start at the end...

Average success is often based on setting average goals.

Decide what you really want: to be the best, the fastest, the cheapest, the biggest, whatever. Aim for the ultimate. Decide where you want to end up. That is your goal.

Then you can work backwards and lay out every step along the way.

Never start small where goals are concerned. You'll make better decisions--and find it much easier to work a lot harder--when your ultimate goal is ultimate success.

6. ... and they don't stop there.

Achieving a goal--no matter how huge--isn't the finish line for highly successful people. Achieving one huge goal just creates a launching pad for achieving another huge goal.

Maybe you want to create a $100 million business; once you do you can leverage your contacts and influence to create a charitable foundation for a cause you believe in. Then your business and humanitarian success can create a platform for speaking, writing, and thought leadership. Then...

The process of becoming remarkably successful in one field will give you the skills and network to be remarkably successful in many other fields.

Remarkably successful people don't try to win just one race. They expect and plan to win a number of subsequent races.

7. They sell.

I once asked a number of business owners and CEOs to name the one skill they felt contributed the most to their success. Each said the ability to sell.

Keep in mind selling isn't manipulating, pressuring, or cajoling. Selling is explaining the logic and benefits of a decision or position. Selling is convincing other people to work with you. Selling is overcoming objections and roadblocks.

Selling is the foundation of business and personal success: knowing how to negotiate, to deal with "no," to maintain confidence and self-esteem in the face of rejection, to communicate effectively with a wide range of people, to build long-term relationships...

When you truly believe in your idea, or your company, or yourself then you don't need to have a huge ego or a huge personality. You don't need to "sell."

You just need to communicate.

8. They are never too proud.

To admit they made a mistake. To say they are sorry. To have big dreams. To admit they owe their success to others. To poke fun at themselves. To ask for help.

To fail.

ASPIRING AUTHOR MAKES FINANCIAL FREEDOM AVAILABLE TO EVERYONE

Author Nicholas L. Maze and Exit Bookcover

Flint, MI (BlackNews.com) -- The month of February is the time when most people receive a "kickback" from the government. It is also a time, when those same people go "spending crazy". Tax return season brings happiness for most and quickly brings heartache in the end. This common cycle inspired Nicholas L. Maze, the author of EXIT, to reduce the price of his "Financial Bible" for eBook readers. To help prevent the heartache that comes along with tax return season, author Maze has set the price forEXIT to only $0.99.

"I'm trying to get this literature into as many hands as I can and my goal is to change the common cycle so many people are trapped in." Author Maze believes that only a few minor adjustments in our money management could easily alleviate the many financial strains we experience throughout the year. "2013 is a new start. Why not make that new start your best start?" Technology has allowed almost any phone to support the many different eBook formats and EXIT is available on Kindle, Nook, and iBook.

With the United States of America accumulating $75 million dollars of debt every hour, it is up to us to start making better decisions within our own finances. At less than the cost of a bottle of water, EXIT: How to Leave Debt Forever is a great tool to initiate that start. Rated at 4.2 Stars (Out of 5, amazon.com), EXIT is bound to provide guidance during these troubling times.

Nationwide (BlackNews.com) -- In 1998, Magic Johnson, through his Magic Johnson Foundation, created the Taylor Michaels Scholarship Program, named after Taylor Michaels, one of his former employees who passed away during that year. Throughout her life, Taylor was known for displaying an intense passion and commitment to youth development, and so for the last 14 years, he has carried her passion forward via the scholarship program.

Each year, they select approximately 30 scholars who demonstrate a strong potential for academic achievement, but face socioeconomic challenges hindering their full expression. Winners will get $2,000 - $5,000 annual tuition assistance-renewable up to 5 years, and a free laptop during their freshman year. They will also have access to internships and mentors.

Applicants must be graduating high school seniors that are planning to attend a four-year college in the fall, must have and maintain a minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) of 2.5 on a 4.0 system, and must reside in certain metropolitan areas.

The deadline is February 2, 2013. Incomplete and late applications will not be accepted.

Microsoft, a global leader in software, smart phones, tablets, video games, and more, has announced that they are giving away millions in scholarships this year. They are offering four different types of technical scholarships for the 2013-2014 academic year to current undergraduate students: General Scholarships, Women’s Scholarships, Minority Scholarships, and Scholarships for Students with Disabilities.

To be eligible, applicants must be enrolled full time in a Bachelor’s degree program at a 4-year college or university in the United States, Canada, or Mexico at the time you submit the application. Plus, they must be making satisfactory progress toward an undergraduate degree in computer science, computer engineering, or a related technical discipline such as electrical engineering, math, or physics.

Because the scholarship is merit based, students must maintain a 3.0 cumulative grade point average out of a possible 4.0, or a 4.0 cumulative grade point average out of a possible 5.0. Also, in addition to submitting an application, students must submit a resume, an academic transcript, answers to essay questions, a letter of referral, and a confirmation page from the online application.

The deadline to apply is February 1, 2013. Students are encouraged to get started on the application process right away!

Children and teens are becoming weaker, less muscular and unable to do physical tasks that previous generations found simple, research has revealed.

As a generation dedicated to online pursuits grows up, 10-year-olds can do fewer sit-ups and are less able to hang from wall bars in a gym. Arm strength has declined in that age group, as has their ability to grip an object firmly.

The findings, published in the child health journal Acta Paediatrica, have led to fresh concern about the impact on children's health caused by the shift away from outdoor activities.

Academics led by Dr Gavin Sandercock, a children's fitness expert at Essex University, studied how strong a group of 315 Essex 10-year-olds in 2008 were compared with 309 children the same age in 1998. They found that:

■ The number of sit-ups 10-year-olds can do declined by 27.1% between 1998 and 2008

■ Arm strength fell by 26% and grip strength by 7%

■ While one in 20 children in 1998 could not hold their own weight when hanging from wall bars, one in 10 could not do so in 2008.

"This is probably due to changes in activity patterns among English 10-year-olds, such as taking part in fewer activities like rope-climbing in PE and tree-climbing for fun," Sandercock said. "Typically, these activities boosted children's strength, making them able to lift and hold their own bodyweight."

The fact that 10% could not do the wall bars test and another 10% refused to try was "really shocking", he added. "That probably shows that climbing and holding their own weight was something they hadn't done before."

Previous research has already shown that children are becoming more unfit, less active and more sedentary and, in many cases, heavier than before.

But the new study also found that children in 2010 had the same body mass index (BMI) as those a decade earlier. Lead author Daniel Cohen, of London Metropolitan University, said this meant that, given their declining strength, the bodies of the recent test group are likely to contain more fat and less muscle then their predecessors. "That's really worrying from a health point of view. It's good news that their BMI hasn't risen, but worrying that pound for pound they're weaker and probably carrying more fat," said Sandercock.

The authors want ministers to reduce their reliance on the National Child Measurement Program, which surveys primary schoolchildren's BMI, and introduce fitness testing in all schools – a call made last year by the then-chief medical officer, Sir Liam Donaldson.

"Climbing trees and ropes or sports like playing basketball used to be standard practice for children, but school authorities and 'health and safety' have contrived to knock the sap out of our children," said Tam Fry of the child growing foundation.

"Falling off a branch used to be a good lesson in picking yourself up and learning to climb better. Now fear of litigation stops the child climbing in the first place."

He added: "Fitness tests may or may not be appropriate, but Sandercock should not be discouraging the use of BMI measurements."

A Department of Health spokeswoman said the government had introduced several programs promoting active lifestyles among the young, and the health survey for England reported back on physical activity levels. She added: "The Department of Health has no current plans to introduce fitness testing for children."

THIS IS HOW BASKETBALL COURTS LOOKS LIKE NOW IN THE SUMMER TIME"

EMPTY

Outdoor activity and basic hand ball or community sports is taking a back seat to today's gadgets with all it's new technology and our younger generation are not as fit or strong as they used to be and it is time to DETOX our youth and get them involved in outdoor activities sports bike riding climbing or hiking swimming soccer etc.

On our traveling sales crew for example there was a time on the week ends we would prepare two or three vans to take people out , one to the movies two clubbing and three just going out to shoot ball then go shopping at the mall etc. but today when we try to attempt that these young folks just want to stay in their rooms and play games eat fast foods and get fat and so we THE LEADERS need to get the group back into fun time activities on the week end which is good for their health while building their muscles and bones but techno gadgets and computer games are not the only culprits Social networking and texting has made our youths anti-social and unfriendly"

Our youth now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for their elders and love chatter in place of exercise; they no longer rise when elders enter the room; they contradict their parents, chatter before company; gobble up their food and tyrannize their teachers."-Socrates

Kids' behavior and technology: Neither is a wholly new set of conundrums, but the increasing availability of social media makes this an important time to talk about them both.

Take a sheet of paper. Crumple it up. Now try to smooth it back out again. The wrinkles won't ever completely come out, will they?

Think of this as a metaphor for information we post about ourselves on social networking sites; once it's there, it's very hard if not impossible to remove. And it's about as easy to share material this way—even very personal material—as it is to crumple a sheet of paper.

Teach your teens or young folks how to have a TIME OUT moment from their gadgets"

computers games cell etc, no texting no facebook no twitter nor any social media for at least 24 hours on a week end and learn to use that time to interact with friends & family going outdoors and just enjoying real contact with real people taking in the sights and sun or getting physically active in some type of sports , B ball bowling soccer bike riding hanging with friends whom also believes and follows this concept so as not to get tempted.

We need to stop letting out gadgets take over and control our lives and way of thinking and get back to being active strong healthy and friendlier with others so learn to get your POWER back"

Years ago, I led a customer service team for a well-known telecommunications company in the UK.

Despite its size, one thing that was always drummed into us was that no matter what the problem, have empathy with the customer and acknowledge that any verbal attacks are aimed at the company, not us.

It did the trick.

We knew that our company wasn’t perfect – which one is? We also knew that some of our company’s practices wouldn’t go over well with our customers, and that would lead to unhappy customers calling in to complain.

Though they sometimes got vociferous in their argument, we would always listen, offer empathy and look for a way that we could both work together to resolve the issue.

Again, it worked. At the end of the call, the customer would apologize and say they were really sorry that they came over as argumentative – they were just frustrated and felt as if they had no-one to talk to about it. All they wanted was for someone to listen and show that their problems were being heard.

Even if nothing could be done about them, just knowing someone cared made a huge difference.

So when did we stop listening?

I come across businesses every day that seem to have forgotten what customer service is. Public transport that’s always late with no apology or explanation; banks raising charges on credit cards with little warning and no alternatives; restaurants changing menus without any kind of customer survey (and often losing the best food in the process).

Even social media isn’t immune to this malaise – look at the thousands of unhappy Facebook users when the company changes its front-end without asking users what they thought first? Even worse, when users complain, Facebook pretty much sticks its head in the sand and says, “Take it or leave it.”

What amazes me more about this apathy toward customers is that businesses can’t afford to have this attitude. All around us, businesses are folding, communities are suffering and families struggling to keep their heads above water.

New business will be almost impossible to come across with any great success, which is why it’s more important than ever to look after your existing customers.

Business is tough enough as it is. We all want to attract new clients and build our brand, but we can’t afford to do so at the expense of our existing customers. Along with employees, they’re the soul of any company and the ones that can offer you the best kind of new client attraction – word-of-mouth advertising.

Something for businesses to keep in mind the next time they review their customer service policy

Mortgage Gains Boost Banks' Profits

By BEECHER TUTTLE Monday Oct: 15/2012

For once, Wells Fargo and J.P. Morgan have reason to celebrate. Making news for all the wrong reasons this year, the two banks each booked strong third quarter performances, buoyed mainly by a gradually improving mortgage business.

Wells Fargo saw its profit increase 22% in the third quarter, backed by $2.81 billion in mortgage banking noninterest income, up 53% from a year ago, according to The Wall Street Journal. The San Francisco bank’s revenue increased 8.1% to $21.21 billion, falling shy of analyst expectations.

J.P. Morgan, meanwhile, saw a 34% jump in third quarter net income, spurred by its home loans business and strong fixed income trading, compelling Chief Executive James Dimon to note that "the housing market has turned the corner."

The sunny news comes at a key time for the two banks, each embroiled in scandals and lawsuits that have left them with a sullied reputation and on the hook for potentially billions in liabilities. The third quarter performances also highlight a small Wall Street secret: banks are still making piles of money. The six largest U.S. lenders combined to generate roughly $63 billion in profit for the year ended in June. It’s declining share prices, escalating capital requirements and fear of an impending fiscal cliff that’s leading to massive job cuts.

Are You Sure You're Not a Bad Boss?

by Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman

Conjure up the term "bad boss" and what comes to mind? Scenes of red-faced people berating subordinates in public. Smarmy souls taking credit for other people's work or saying one thing and doing another. Cutting remarks. Yelling. Feel free to continue — we're sure you can.

This is iconic bad boss behavior — defining in our minds the very essence of what bad bosses do. When we see these things portrayed on TV or in the movies, we can't help laughing, even while we're thinking "Whew! I don't do those things; I'm not a bad boss."

But, not so fast. Our research suggests that the offensive actions so often associated with being a bad boss make up less than 20% of the behavior that actually defines the worst bosses.

When we analyzed the behavior of 30,000 managers, as seen through the eyes of some 300,000 of their peers, direct reports, and bosses on 360-degree evaluations, we found that the sins of the bad boss are far more often those of omission, not commission. That is, bad bosses are defined not so much by any appalling things they do as by certain critical things they don't do.

We came to this conclusion from two directions: First in this group of 30,000, we focused on the 11,000 leaders who received the lowest aggregate scores on their 360 feedback reports — the bottom 1% and the bottom 10% — to see if we could spot any early warning signals that might have predicted their lack of success. Then we analyzed a group of executives who had recently been terminated, similarly combing through the data looking for any clues that would explain why they had failed. By combining conclusions from these two groups, we were able to identify 10 fatal flaws that contribute to a leader's failure— none of which appears in the feedback of the effective leaders.

Here's the list in order, from the most to the least fatal:

Failure to inspire, owing to a lack of energy and enthusiasm. Again and again failed leaders were described by their colleagues as unenthusiastic and passive. This was in fact the most noticeable of all their failings.

Acceptance of mediocre performance in place of excellent results. The poorest leaders did not set stretch goals, inadvertently encouraging mediocre performance by letting people coast along doing less work, less well than their counterparts working for better managers.

A lack of clear vision and direction. Poor leaders have a murky view of the future, don't know precisely what direction to take, and are (not surprisingly) unwilling to communicate about the future, leaving their subordinates with no clear path forward.

An inability to collaborate and be a team player. Poor leaders avoid their peers, act independently, and fail to develop positive relations with colleagues. The worst of them view work as a competition and their colleagues as opponents.

Failure to walk the talk. Saying one thing and doing another is the fastest way to lose the trust of all your colleagues. The worst offenders here also pose a wider threat as dangerous role models — creating the risk that their organizations will degenerate if others behave as they do.

Failure to improve and learn from mistakes. Arrogance and complacency combine in the poorest leaders as they rise, causing them to come to the dangerous conclusion that they've reached a stage in their careers where development is no longer required. Closely connected to this failing is an inability to learn from mistakes, leaving these unfortunates to repeat the same ones over and over.

An inability to lead change or innovate owing to a resistance to new ideas. Whether stemming from a lack of imagination or simply too closed a mind-set, this flaw manifests itself as a failure to take suggestions from subordinates or peers.

A failure to develop others. Leaders who were not concerned about helping their direct reports develop and were not seen as coaches or mentors were highly likely to fail. Primarily focused on themselves, they were not concerned about the longer-term success of their employees or their department.

Inept interpersonal skills. These are the leaders who are rude, talk down, yell, and belittle either out of positive malice or out of boorish insensitivity. But even these failings often are manifested in things these poor leaders don't do. Included in this group are the people who don't listen, don't ask good questions, don't reach out to others, and don't praise or otherwise reinforce good behavior and success.

Displays of bad judgment that leads to poor decisions. Here at the bottom are the leaders who lead the troops over the cliff by deciding to do the wrong things.

While any one of these flaws can be fatal enough to tank a leader, our research shows they are commonly displayed in groups of three or four, as one problem creates another. But the point here is that fully eight out of ten of these flaws stem from things leaders don't do, and even some of the most obvious bad behavior is often perceived by colleagues, bosses, and subordinates as failures to act more than as obvious mistakes. This makes these flaws difficult to see — they're not the kinds of flaws we instantly recognize, either in others or in ourselves. And they're not the kinds of things people call out, since there's nothing explicit that draws attention.

Worse, they're the sorts of failing people observe only after weeks and months of working together, which means if you're one of those unfortunate few heading toward disaster, you could be traveling down this road right now with no hint that anything's amiss. No hint, that is, unless you take the time to consider not just what kind of a leader you are, but what kind you're not

POSITIVE STORIES:

JOHN PAUL DeJORIA — A True Global Citizenby Kaya Morgan

The rags-to-riches story of John Paul DeJoria exemplifies the American Dream. Today, John Paul Mitchell Systems currently produces over 90 products sold through 90,000 hair salons across the United States and in 45 countries worldwide with annual retail sales topping $600 million.

This son of immigrant parents from Italy and Greece learned the value of hard work early in life. John Paul and his brother would get up at three in the morning to fold and deliver newspapers doing their part to help support the family while they were both still in grammar school. At a very young age, he spent time in the company of a street gang in East Los Angeles, then enrolled in the U.S. Naval Reserve while still in high school and after graduation, joined the Navy with aspirations of attending dental school. Although discharged with honors, that turned out to be not an alternative financially.

Soon thereafter, an early but brief marriage left DeJoria a single father with a young son to support. He took on an assortment of odd jobs to make ends meet — everything from pumping gas, repairing bicycles and working as a janitor to honing his sales skills by selling encyclopedias, photocopying machines, dictating equipment and even life insurance.

This was a particularly trying time for DeJoria. While still in his early twenties and too proud to ask for help, he found himself homeless on more than one occasion. Those were the days of collecting Coke bottles and cans to cash them in for a few pennies at the corner drugstore to buy potatoes, rice, cereal, macaroni and cheese or canned soup. But, no matter how difficult the challenge, he managed to keep his head above water.

Eventually, his fate changed course when he was offered an entry-level marketing position with Time magazine. It didn't take long before he became the Los Angeles circulation manager. Then in 1971, he knew he'd met his calling when he accepted a position at Redken Laboratories, the leading professional hair salon product company in the U.S. at the time, on a starting salary of only $650 a month.

The real turning point came when DeJoria joined forces with his friend, Paul Mitchell, then one of American's most influential hair designers. Together they bankrolled the company on the borrowed sum of $700 to introduce their revolutionary sculpting lotions, hair setting and styling methods. Even today's well-known image of black and white packaging is the result of those early days of not being able to afford colored ink.

According to DeJoria, the company was extremely lucky to make it through that very tough first year. At one point, it consisted of no more than a post office box with an answering machine using the voice of a female friend with an English accent conveying the message that there was indeed an office out there, somewhere — even if it was in the back seat of their roving road show.

DeJoria and Mitchell literally went door-to-door visiting hair salons across the country with a sales strategy that had never been used before — to conduct free demonstrations that would literally guarantee to sell all of the products or they would take them back at no cost to the salons. "I have said many times that the difference between successful people and unsuccessful people is that successful people do a lot of the things that unsuccessful people don't want to do. Like when the door is slammed in your face ten times, you go on to door number eleven with just as much enthusiasm," smiles DeJoria.

The John Paul Mitchell Systems (JPMS) empire runs with the perfection of a Swiss clock. DeJoria's management philosophy is to do more with less. With no middle management, typically, an organization of their size would utilize three times the number of employees they have. However, John Paul's principal of paying more to get the top people does pay off. Of course, the extra benefits also encourage a deep loyalty among the JPMS team including providing daily lunch for all employees and reimbursement for those who carpool. Is it any wonder that during the last twenty years, only a handful of employees have ever left the company?

DeJoria feels blessed in his personal life as well. Married to the lovely and vivacious company spokesperson, Eloise, he is the father of six with four grandchildren. Their main residences are in Las Vegas, Nevada and Austin, Texas with additional homes in New York City, Rhode Island, Aspen, Colorado, two on the Big Island of Hawaii, Beverly Hills and a beach home in Malibu, California.

Enthusiastic about alternative energy sources, DeJoria is currently helping to fund the world's first environmentally-friendly oil refinery in Tunisia, transforming the demilitarized zone in Korea into an ecological preserve and has invested in solar powered automobiles. His entrepreneurial interest also continues to expand into other areas including the House of Blues nightclubs, Patron Tequila, Pyrat Rum, Solar Utility, Touchstone Natural Gas, Three Star Energy, Diamond Audio, and even a Harley Davidson dealership. On the 20-year anniversary of his homeless days, he bought a seat on the New York Stock Exchange.

Due to the millions of dollars DeJoria has donated to a variety of charitable causes, he has been a welcomed guest at the White House Conference on Philanthropy in Washington, D.C. His numerous awards for contributions made to such causes as Cancer, Autism, Diabetes, AIDS, Leukemia, Multiple Sclerosis plus a variety of inner city and children's foundations, animal rescue and ecological organizations are too numerous to mention. Recently, he saved a tribe of over 2,000 Native Americans living in the mountains near the Mexican border from certain extinction by providing food, blankets, plows and seeds.

Amazingly, DeJoria gives more than just monetary contributions, even putting himself in harms way by placing his body between the hunters and the baby harp seals on the icebergs in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, off Canada. And, he has picked up where Princess Diana left off, as a spokesperson of Mine Seekers, the organization devoted to removing land mines in war torn regions, along with Nelson Mandella, Richard Branson and Queen Noor.

To the surprise of real estate developers, DeJoria passed over many lucrative offers on the last remaining piece of prime property in Malibu that runs from the ocean to the Santa Monica Mountains bordering the national parklands, preferring instead to donate his 410 acres of Tuna Canyon as a wilderness refuge, "To all the children and adults of the world to enjoy forever."

Each year, during the Holiday Season, the U.S. Secretary of Defense visits members of the Armed Forces, accompanied by a small group of entertainers and Members of Congress. John Paul DeJoria was the first representative of the traveling party from the United States business community asked to speak to the multi-national troops, and was appointed as a Special Emissary to the United Nations Environmental Program. He has given presentations about management techniques, motivation and global thinking to a number of departments and agencies of the United States government including military and intelligence groups.

John Paul DeJoria is a caring humanitarian who believes that each of us has a responsibility every day to make the world a better place in which to live. The measure of DeJoria's success is not in the pre-eminence of his company or of the other enterprises he heads, but rather by the worldwide good he has accomplished through his continued investment of time, money and influence in human and global pursuits. Little did he know that one day he would become a billionaire of impeccable and renowned reputation.

Living by his philosophy of "Success unshared is failure," coupled with his larger-than-life charisma, it is easy to understand why success was bound to come his way. Fortune has given him the opportunity to share his rewards while continuing to challenge and inspire those around him, always keeping in mind that "Nothing in life is worth doing unless you're having fun doing it."

No two businesses and industries are alike, but successful leadership principles are largely universal. So, learn by emulating what successful business owners and leaders have done to succeed.

We asked several successful business owners for their best leadership advice. Some fundamental concepts were cited over and over again.

1. Communicate vision and goals

It's not enough for successful leaders to simply have a clear vision. A true leader must communicate that vision and those goals to employees, investors and customers. Without a clear sense of goals, it is easy for everyone involved to lose sight of the larger picture and get lost in the details.

It's not enough for successful leaders to simply have a clear vision. A true leader must communicate that vision and those goals to employees, investors and customers. Without a clear sense of goals, it is easy for everyone involved to lose sight of the larger picture and get lost in the details.

Leaders must be able to listen and understand, as well as communicate.

ï¿½Leadership has a core fundamental for me, and that is dialog," said John Spiridigliozzi, vice president of business development at Infinit Technology Solutions. "I have had instances where I was sure I was communicating only to find out I was publishing.

"Engaging in a dialog with team members [is an] opportunity for clarityï¿½. Learning to listen is not simply keeping quiet while others talk. It is comprehending what is being said, assessing the value and responding accordingly.

3. Build relationships

People are your greatest resource: clients and customers as well as employees. Find ways to strengthen the level of trust you have with everyone involved in your enterprise.

ï¿½Be considerate. Be transparent and consistent. Be fair. Be constructive. Be realistic. Be decisive," says Larry M. Elkin, CPA, CFPR and founder of Palisades Hudson Financial Group. He says it all comes down to trust. "We all say we want team players, but many leaders forget to act as part of the team. It is not only important that your workers trust each other: It is vital that they trust you as their leader.ï¿½

4. Set the tone

Company culture, tone and attitude come from the top down. A passionate and compassionate leader can energize an entire company. Set an example of cooperation, trust and openness. Focus on solutions and positivity instead of blame and backstabbing.

ï¿½You can go through thousands of dollars in consultants to shape your culture, but it will still come back to the owner's approach," says Kristi Hedges, leadership consultant and coach at The Hedges Company.

Hedges favors a hands-on approach. "If you're motivated and happy in your role, then others will follow your lead. And if you're burned out and tired, that energy will permeate everything. Owners need to make sure they shape their role, and their company, to make them fulfilled and excited. If you put yourself last, you're hurting the entire organization."

5. Share ownership

In a tough economic climate, it is more important than ever to be open-minded and employ a community-style approach to leadership. It's a ï¿½many heads are better than oneï¿½ approach.

A good leader allows both employee responsibility and creativity to encourage growth and new ideas. Successful leaders understand the value of customer and community input. Soliciting and listening to feedback and suggestions can lead to a better understanding of what needs to be done and also generates company loyalty and a brand following.

ï¿½In our business, we've learned that a little transparency can go a long way toward increasing employees' confidence, commitment and energy,ï¿½ said Ethan Willis, CEO of Prosper Inc. and co-author of "The One-Minute Entrepreneur."

When the Corporate World Calls

Mom-and-pop retailers and marketers are taking a greater shine to the corporate world as the U.S. economy continues to lag.

The rate of entrepreneurship is slowing and the self-employment rate is declining as more people move to salaried jobs, reports Kyle Stock of The Daily.

In April the number of self-employed U.S. residents was down 10% from five years ago, according to federal data, while the number of U.S. residents who tried to launch businesses last year dropped 5.9% from 2010, according to a recent report from the Kauffman Foundation.

That's partly because a growing number of entrepreneurs and freelancers are finding themselves in a Sisyphus-like state.

"I really wasn't making any money, and I was working a ton," former boutique owner Michelle Stash told The Daily. "That's OK in the beginning of the business--it's almost exciting at that point. But after five or six years, it just kind of got on my mental state."

After running her shoes and clothing shop for more than six years in Bozeman, Mont., Stash took a job as a front-office manager at a restaurant down the street. She said she no longer worries about competing with Wal-Mart.__________________________________________________________________

HOW TO SURVIVE A LAY OFF...

How to Become Top Dog in the C-Suite

You're competing against colleagues in a horse race for a plum executive post. Everyone likes your work, so you expect to win.

You're wrong. It takes more than superior performance to cross the finish line nowadays, as corporate boards have increased their focus on management succession. At the same time, boards rarely divulge the additional requirements that executives must meet to land a senior spot.

"Most companies do a really bad job of communicating what people need to win,'' says John Beeson, a succession-planning consultant and author of "The Unwritten Rules,'' a book about executive advancement. "You usually are operating in the dark in a horse race.''

It's such a mystery that recruiters Spencer Stuart even compiled a handbook for internal candidates. Many questions "arise in the high-stakes dynamics of executive appointments,'' the 10-page document says. Nearly 20 companies have used the guide since 2009, estimates James M. Citrin, co-head of Spencer Stuart's CEO and board practice.

Contests to pick the next chief executive are raging inside big businesses such as Ford MotorCo., Intel Corp., Pepsico Inc. and Walt Disney Co. Though a number of companies hire outsiders, moving up still represents the most common route to the top.

I sought strategies for winning a horse race from executives who've run one—plus recruiters, directors and coaches. Each cited numerous little-known rules that you should heed while vying to become a C-suite executive or subsidiary president. Among them:

Avoid premature coronation in the media.

Being touted too soon as the heir apparent will magnify any minor gaffes you make. You also risk creating factions because "co-workers often spend time unproductively trying to figure out how the succession will play out,'' warns Greg Brenneman, a former CEO of Burger King Corp. and two other concerns. He has observed multiple horse races as a director of four public companies.

Mark Fields, president of Ford's operations in North and South America, already broke this rule. He's considered a candidate to succeed Alan Mulally, who will likely leave his post at auto maker within two years. Last month, Fields cooperated on a prominent New York Times profile. "Ford's Inside, In Sight of the Crown,'' its headline read.

Fields told the Times that his business unit had "a lot to celebrate,'' but ducked a question about his chances to run Ford. In an interview with the Journal, a person close to the company emphasizes that "he is not the only internal candidate.''

"Mark is absolutely focused on running the Americas and contributing to Ford's profitable growth,'' a spokeswoman says.

Anticipate long auditions.

Horse races can last years. Last October, Disney announced that Robert Iger will give up the corner office in March 2015. The move has set up a protracted contest between Thomas Staggs, leader of the theme-park division, and Jay Rasulo, chief financial officer.

By signaling his exit far in advance, Iger puts extraordinary pressure on those executives. Iger "operated as if in a glass house" before Disney directors promoted him to CEO from president, according to the Spencer Stuart handbook. Disney declined to comment.

You're always on display during a horse race partly because boards constantly assess internal contenders "without being obvious,'' observes Dennis Carey, a vice chairman of recruitersKorn/Ferry International. However, Citrin cautions, your candidacy may fail "if you appear to be constantly performing for an audience rather than just doing your job well.''

CGive lieutenants extra credit.

A successful retail-industry executive says this advice helped him win a hotly contested internal horse race years ago. A trusted inside mentor urged him to stop using the word "I" and "regularly distribute credit for results,'' he explains.

In bestowing bouquets, however, "make sure your fingerprints are on the accomplishments,'' consultant Beeson suggests. So you should introduce and conclude your team's presentation to the big brass about an important initiative, he adds.

Though a corporate board will never say so, "it's also smart to absorb all the blame for missteps,'' says John Wood, a vice chairman of recruiters Heidrick & Struggles International Inc.

Befriend your rivals.

In late February, Johnson & Johnson tapped Alex Gorsky as its next leader starting this spring. His main competitor was fellow vice chairman Sheri McCoy.

The executives appear to enjoy a close bond and "had an understanding between them that 'if you win, I will work for you' – and vice versa,''' a drug-industry recruiter recalls. Gorsky may keep McCoy by making her chief operating officer, say people close to the company.

"The board is very eager to see the two of them run J&J for the next ten years,'' notes one such individual. J&J declined to comment.

You must walk a fine line between being a strong team player and showing "you actually have the chops to do the job,'' a food-industry executive says. He says he recently lost a horse race largely over this sticky issue.

Demonstrating loyalty and independence simultaneously "is an art," agrees David Dotlich, chairman of Pivot Leadership LLC, an executive-coaching firm. His solution? Alert the incumbent before any public challenge, and don't attack topics he or she cares deeply about.

Greed is not good.

In 2009, a media-industry executive was the internal front-runner to become a group head, reporting to the CEO. Although they offered him the position, he failed to secure the job.

Pay negotiations began, and the executive demanded a package "that essentially matched what the long-serving incumbent had,'' remembers Citrin, who led the search. "The board found it distasteful.''

The unsuccessful candidate soon quit.

Write to Joann S. Lublin at joann.lublin@wsj.com

Distinguish yourself from the incumbent

Create Your Own Travel Photography Jobs!

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Sometimes we're given clues in life and here's a major CLUE: Joost lives on one of the world's most beautiful beaches, he does his favorite activity every day, he takes photos of other people doing it, he creates his own schedule, and he gets paid for doing it! This is the dream-life and this interview shows you all the secrets to make the same thing happen for yourself. Listening to the full interview is a no-brainer. He lays it ALL out for you.

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How to Keep Your Job This Season

Michael Angelo Bosch as santa

career advice By Julie Steinberg

It's nearing the end of the year and companies are calculating bonus pools and budgets for the next year. That means your boss could be discussing the fate of your job at this very moment. Nothing is guaranteed, of course, but to fill your holiday season with joy, here are five ways to help ensure you won't get laid off.

Increase Your Visibility

If you toil away in your cubicle without anyone knowing you're there, you're setting yourself up for disaster. You need to promote your work not only to your own boss, but to your boss's boss. That means sending your boss regular updates on your numbers, forwarding along compliments from colleagues and clients and making sure you're the go-to person even for just one project. Be gracious and thank others for their help and your self-praise won't come off as self-aggrandizing.

Become Your Boss's Favorite

At the end of the day, it's not about numbers, it's about relationships. You need to have technical competence, but if your boss just doesn't like you, it doesn't matter how much quantum physics you know. A new survey shows that despite companies' efforts, favoritism still exists in the workplace. So apply yourself to building strong relationship with your supervisors just as you would to working on a particularly rigorous balance sheet issue. Don't layer on the brown-nosing, but make a concerted effort to know their favorite topics, sports teams and other personality aspects that will help you to connect with them. Do that and you'll be sitting in the company box come Super Bowl.

Time Your Vacation Well

If you've only been with the company three or four months, taking a week-long vacation isn't likely to be received well by your superiors. If you've been there for some time, however, it won't be frowned upon if you go away at Christmas with the family. If your boss tends to "forget" the person when they leave the office, make sure to check in daily and also make clear you're accessible on e-mail. If your boss asks you to cancel your trip, however, it's a good idea to acquiesce.

Don't Multitask

This piece of advice seems counterintuitive in an age where we're expected to juggle multiple documents, news reports, sets of data and Gchat conversations with the click of a mouse. But don't be lulled into complacency: Research shows your not working at your best when you switch rapidly from task to task. Taking the time to refocus even after a brief conversation with a friend can eat up valuable brain activity. So slow down, concentrate on the task at hand and really apply yourself. Anything less will demonstrate your work may not be good enough to justify keeping you in place.

Still Ask for What You Deserve

If you've been doing the work of several people, you should be compensated for your extra time. You don't need to walk on eggshells simply because it's a bad economy and many people at your firm have been laid off. Those who rise in their careers know their self-worth and know to ask for a food delivery if they deserve it. Career experts say it's worth a shot, especially if you've got a strong justification for asking for more money.

Ten Tips for Keeping Your Temper at Work

By Kelly Eggers

You know the feeling. That co-worker of yours has been driving you nuts all day with constant chatting. Or perhaps it's a subordinate who can never get it right. Or maybe that last demand from an unreasonable boss.

So one day, you lose it. You explode in anger and frustration because things just aren't going right.

Tension is running high in workplaces these days as fewer people take on more work, often for less pay. Whether or not you handle that tension gracefully, however, can make or break your career.

"More careers have been derailed because of negative emotion than for any single factor," says Mark Maraia, president of Maraia & Associates, a relationship management consultancy. "Negative emotions skew communication more wildly than anything. If you and I don't deal well with anger, you won't be able to communicate with me, and I won't be able to communicate with you."

Developing an effective strategy to keep your emotions from "hijacking" your sense of reason can make the difference between keeping your job and losing it as well as preserving your professional reputation. "I would regularly lose my temper at one of my assistant managers," says Michael Monroe, a small-business owner and founder of management consultant, the Invisible Boss. "I'll never forget the day he quit; he met me at a restaurant so that I wouldn't make a scene when he gave me the news."

Here are 10 strategies for managing infuriating situations at work that won't leave you feeling guilty, even angrier, or ushered out the door.

Pick up on the Signs

Catching yourself before you reach the point of no return is the best way to avoid an angry meltdown. An increased heart rate and a raised voice are the first indicators, says Carol Goman, a nonverbal communication expert and author of "The Silent Language of Leaders."

"People will tell you to relax, but I have my clients physically increase their tension first," she says. "If you're alone, make fists and tense your muscles until you reach a point of controlling an outburst, and then you can relax."

Barry Maher, a workplace and communication expert based in California, suggests something as simple as taking deep breaths when you feel the pangs of fury coming on. "When we become angry, we often stop breathing momentarily just when our brains need oxygen the most," he explains. "Taking air in through your mouth also keeps you from letting just the wrong thing out of your mouth, because the first thing you say is very likely to be the worst thing you could have said."

Don't Ignore it

The worst thing to do when you start feeling furious is try to put a lid on it.

"Controlling anger isn't releasing it," Maraia says. "It's like a teapot. Psychologically, what happens is if you're really upset with someone, and don't express it in a way that helps you let it out, it'll build up until you get really upset over something really trivial."

It makes it harder to address what the actual problem is, he says, when four or five conversations accumulate into the straw that breaks the camel's back. "Unreleased negative emotion eventually manifests itself in illness and soured relationships, both at home and personally," Maraia says.

Go Someplace Else

One of the most effective ways to stave off a meltdown is to physically remove yourself from a stress-triggering situation. "It's OK to tell the other person that this has gone too far and we both need a few minutes to calm down and we can address the situation again," says Steve Siebold, author of "177 Mental Toughness Secrets of the World Class." "All employees should seek at least 20 minutes of solitude in their day to relax, regroup and re-energize," he says.

Some people take regular walks, others do yoga and still others may turn off their office lights and meditate. Doing something as simple as changing your clothes can change your state of mind, Goman says.

Of course, walking away may not be an option. You can't excuse yourself from a board meeting when you're starting to feel angry, for example, and exercising for an hour midday isn't always feasible.

Don't Completely Lose It

During his tenure as chief executive of Apple, Steve Jobs was notorious for angry outbursts. Some employees despised him for it, while others admired his ability to have a tantrum and move on. "Steve Jobs is the poster child illustrating that it's OK to get extremely angry at work," says Maraia. "He used it as a tool to get the best out of people, and if negative emotions are used correctly, they can do that. But most people aren't Steve Jobs."

Most people retain bits and pieces of anger, which flare up again later, even if they blow their top. "Releasing" anger doesn't require a major blowout, Maraia says. "You cannot control whether or not interactions happen with co-workers that are negative, or traumatic," Maraia says, "but it's totally a choice your reaction or response to whatever happens."

As soon as you feel frustration, try to replace negative, unproductive emotions with positive, constructive ones. "Acknowledge that you're pissed that the computer melted down, but do something to change your mindset," Maraia says. "Some people say they pray, others count to 10, some people can pull out a journal and write things out. It's about taking ownership, being responsible, and not repressing it or denying that you're angry."

Steer Clear of the Keyboard

"It is too easy to fire off a sarcastic or hostile response" with a nasty email, says Laurence Stybel, executive-in-residence at the Suffolk University School of Management and Entrepreneurship in Boston. "Once the 'send' button is pushed, the message is out of your control, and you can't deny having made the comments."

Consider Carol Bartz, the former Yahoo chief executive who, after being ousted, subsequently fired off an email telling the entire company she had been "fired over the phone" by Yahoo's chairman. That didn't do her reputation or her future job prospects any good.

"When there is an emotional situation, email is the worst way to handle it," says Goman. "The way the person on the other end receives it is totally out of your control."

Be Assertive, Not Aggressive

You don't always have time to let the anger subside. Try using assertive, as opposed to aggressive, language and mannerisms to express your feelings. This is especially true for women; when a woman calmly explains and rationalizes her frustration, it won't dampen her status as much as if she outwardly expresses anger, Goman says.

To encourage assertiveness, consider what you say as well as how you say it. "Aggressive language blames: 'You are such a jerk because you did X,'" Goman explains. "Assertive language focuses on your reactions: 'When you did X, it made me feel Y.'"

Assertive communication also implicitly acknowledges the opposing party's feelings, Maraia says. "Aggression is an intimidation tactic," he says. "When you have got someone who is aggressive, they don't give a flying you-know-what about what you want." Someone assertive will frame the problem in a way that avoids pointed insults, however, instead explaining that the problematic behavior is unacceptable because of its impact on the team or the company's bottom line, for instance.

Pair your words with assertive body language such as standing with your feet wider than your hips, your shoulders back and making direct eye contact. "Most times, in the corporate world, assertive is going to be far more effective than aggressive," Maraia says. "Short-term, you can win the battle with aggressiveness, but long-term, you'll lose the war."

Consider Your Reputation

Regardless of the target of your blowout, word will travel.

Jeff Camarda, CEO of Camarda Financial Advisors, a Florida-based portfolio manager, has witnessed this problem within his own company. "One of our key professionals had anger management and selfishness issues," Camarda says, which resulted in official warnings and fines. While the employee has corrected the problem, "he's lost the trust that he would act properly and in the organization's best interests, which sharply limits the authority he'd be given at this point."

"You may be right, and you may get your point across, but if you damage the relationship, you will lose in the long run," Goman says. "Collaborative environments are based on relationships with trust and mutual respect. If you destroy a relationship through the expression of anger, you will probably never get it back."

Sleep on it

Many experts believe in the 24-hour rule: Write your feelings out (in a journal, or electronically on a non-company device), wait 24 hours, then look at what you've written before deciding if it's something you want to send out.

"When you're angry or upset or sad or emotional, you're probably experiencing emotions you may not want other people to know about," says Stybel. "In sleep, we can sometimes process events that happened during the day and make more seasoned judgments."

Focus on the Actual Problem

When you're fuming and ready to unleash on a colleague, consider first if they are the problem, or if there is a below-the-surface issue.

"Don't attack a person, attack facts, things you personally have witnessed that are creating a problem," says Mary Hladio, president of Ember Carriers, a Cincinnati-based workplace consultancy. Were there specific rules or regulations that weren't followed, or is the problem rooted in implicit expectations you had for a particular project or assignment that may not have been clearly communicated?

"Set up a time to speak with the other parties involved…in a neutral and private space," she suggests, and clearly explain the root cause of the problem. "Discuss how that affects other employees, or the importance of daily responsibilities and performance."

Think About the Seven Dwarfs

It's not easy, but some experts believe distracting yourself can help you redirect your feelings.

"You can't hold two thoughts at the same time," says Maraia. "If I tell you not to think about a pink elephant, the only way to stop thinking about it is if you think about something else; you can either be upset, or choose to think about something else."

It can also help to think of something you haven't brought to mind in a while. "Activate memory recall," says Maher. "Just the act of dredging something from memory will tend to short-circuit that rush of anger and make it much easier to control yourself."

It doesn't have to be complex—thinking of an old nursery rhyme or the names of the Seven Dwarfs can help you concentrate on something else for a few minutes, which can be enough to help you return to the problem with a clearer frame of mind.

Top salespeople use these simple rules to keep their customers buying from them--even in the face of steep competition

Customer loyalty is the key to profitability. The reason is simple. It costs more–geometrically more–to acquire a new customer than to keep a current one.

Without customer loyalty, customers leave. Then you can end up sacrificing as much as a third of your sales year just to get your numbers back to where they were the previous year. Ouch.

With that in mind, did you ever wonder how top salespeople keep their customers so loyal? It's not because they have great products or they're good at schmoozing. The secret to customer loyalty lies in putting the interests of the customer ahead of your own. It's really that simple.

Arts and Craft Convert your passion of making craft into your business. The craft includes many things like making soft toys, handmade cards, pottery, jewelry, etc. In the beginning, if you do not find enough capital to establish your own set up, till such time you can sell your stuff in the various local stores. Later, when you are self sufficient, open your own outlet.

Professional Organizer You do not even need much capital to be a professional organizer. Spend a little in designing a simple and an attractive webpage or if you are lucky enough to get it for free with your friend's assistance, then nothing like it. You can begin these kind of hobbies at home itself. Fix the charges for per hour. As the business develops, you can hire a few assistants as well, and see how things go from there on.

Camping If you love trekking and want to live a life full of thrill and adventure, then why not make it a profession. Set up your own adventure club along with few others and establish contacts with the tourism groups. They would help you in sending interested people visiting that area. Another option is, you can be an organizer for school or college camping programs and can also arrange for companies and big organization as well.

Photography Those having a hobby of photography can earn a lot by selling their digital photographs online. There are many websites that offer handsome payments for the photographs. The photographs can be converted into printed cards or enlarge them into paintings. Frame them nicely and sell them in art and craft stores. It is one of the hobbies that make you money with in no time.

Blogging A passion to write and an internet connection can fetch you lots of money. You can blog through advertisements and other associate programs like Google Adsense, Amazon, etc. There are many newly setup companies that are looking for those who can blog for them. You can be one out of them with your own style of creative writing.

Teaching Your inclination towards studies and an urge to share your knowledge with others can be best explored through teaching. It requires you to have knowledge and required degree, then you can apply as a guest lecturer, if looking for part time opportunity, in the colleges and schools as per the specialization.

Gardening There is a lot of scope for those who have gardening as their hobby. Providing service for setting up a garden or a landscape can be a part-time job as well full-time. You can also add a small nursery of seasonal flowers to your hobby by investing very little.

The pastime that you once started as an interest can be the hobbies that can make you money. Many money making ideas and hobbies can make you a successful entrepreneur in the business world. The desire to work will be increased if you set up a small business based on your hobby and interest. Choose the most liked hobby out of your list of hobbies, but before implementing the idea of converting hobbies that make you money into a business, consult a legal adviser for the legalities and local restrictions. All the best!

3. Hobbies that a lot of people can get paid for, because there is a huge demand for – the marketable hobbies, if you will: This is the stuff that a lot of you alluded to in my retire now post. Just think of all the possibilities out there! I’ll list a few that you brought up in that last post and a few of my own ideas:

Auto: Everyone who owns a vehicle needs maintenance at some point. There are a lot of people out there who absolutely love working on mechanical things. There’s also a lot of people out there who feel a need or desire to ‘baby’ their cars. Hence, the auto detailing industry. And there’s also a group that Tuan mentioned, that love customizing vehicles.

Cooking: I have a friend who made a decent income from being a ‘personal chef’. He basically was hired to come in and do holiday parties, cocktail parties, dinner parties, and even in-home meal preparation. On the latter, there is definitely a market of wealthy people out there willing to spend good money for you to make them some home cooked meals that they can heat up over the week.

Writing: From blogging to freelance writing and even publishing your own book, writing is always going to be a marketable hobby that a lot of good and even average writers can get paid for. A lot of businesses need help producing content, and if you enjoy writing, you can make a decent income at it.

Financial Planning: Many of us have money to manage but little knowledge about how to do so. Financial planning is an entire industry built around this need.

Photography: Just about any special event – from press events, to weddings, to sporting events needs a photographer. Someone is going to get paid to do it, and if you’re honed your craft and enjoy doing it, why not you? This hobby can also result in passive income if you license your photos for sale online or elsewhere.

We’ll stop there, but I think you can see where I’m going with this… There’s a lot of opportunities out there based on the needs of individuals and businesses. The key, I believe, is that you have to save someone else the time and trouble of learning how to do it and then actually do it on their own.

How to Make Money From Your Hobby or Craft

:

Start by selling your items at garage sales, farmers markets, craft fairs, etc. This will give you a sense of what people like about your crafts, and will allow you to design new items that will be in demand.

2

Enlist your friends to spread the good word about your creations by word of mouth, on their blogs, etc. Also, create a website on which you can showcase your skills and items for sale

3

Make business cards that you can give out in order to advertise your business. The cards should be well designed so as to give potential customers a sense of your creativity and style

4

Harness the power of the internet to market your products on selected websites. Ebay is a good choice. There is another site, www.etsy.com, that is specifically for buying and selling of handicrafts. And cafepress.com is a site on which you can have your designs imprinted on items like mugs, t-shirts, vases etc and then sold on the same site, and you get a portion of the proceeds.

Think About Work Hobbies – Or at Least Tasks you Like Doing Work hobbies? Yep. The stuff at your 9-to-5 that you gravitated towards because you really enjoyed doing it. The stuff that you lost yourself in and made the time fly by. Maybe you just loved typing, talking to customers, working on the company’s web design, or playing with numbers.

Even if you absolutely hate your day job, I’m sure that there is something about your job that you really don’t mind doing, and actually kind of look forward to. Well, if you’re getting paid to do it already, why not make more of your day that activity and get paid to do it on your own? If your company has a need for it, odds are that others will to. Find enough of them, contract with those companies, and do the activity you like for as much time as you want on your own.

The Catch (Hint: It’s in the ‘Marketable’ Part)

That’s right, there is a catch to all of this. And it’s the part that really does separate the dreamers from the doers. It’s the marketing part of ‘marketable’. Yes, there is a lot of really cool work out there that you can get paid for, even with average skill, but unless you know how to market yourself, you’re going to have a hard time finding it and winning it.

You’re going to have to fight for the right to paaa… kidding…. to close the deal. And it’s the part that a lot of people get tripped up on. Your writing isn’t going to sell itself when you’re first starting out. You have to get out there and sell it. You have to network, you have to have an online presence, you have to find out where the opportunity is. That’s an entirely different topic that we’ll touch on in an upcoming post, but I wanted to get the point across.

If you want to follow your dreams, you’re going to have to sell your product/service and sell yourself. There’s nothing sleazy in that, and in fact, the sales process can be highly rewarding, but you’re going to have to be open to it.

Marketable Hobby Discussion:

Have you turned hobbies into your main source of income? Tell us how!

What ideas do you have for ‘marketable hobbies’ that others are willing to pay for?

Have you ever actually been paid to do any of these things?

What kind of things have you paid others to do that you could have done for yourself?

POSITIVE STORIES

How A Black Kid From The Innercity Became a Millionaire By 14!!

Farrah Gray got his start selling
hand-painted rocks. Growing up in inner-city Chicago in the 1980s, Gray
grew accustomed to days "when the only thing in our refrigerator was the
light that came on when you opened the door," he writes in his book,
"Reallionaire."

It was also an event worth recording
when a month would pass without anyone being shot in his housing
project, he writes. So he was determined from a young age to become
self-sufficient. He told AOL Jobs that he credits the poverty of his
childhood as the great motivating factor.

And not only did Gray become very rich, but
he did so starting at a very young age. At 6 years old, he looked
around his block in search of something that could be converted into a
salable product, and settled on rocks."There's
no idea dumb enough you can't get at least a billion people to buy
into," he says about his first $50 profit. He began by painting and
refashioning the rocks to make them into bookends and doorstops.
"It's the spirit of the Third World entrepreneur," he says. "You have to
create your own job. You can't wait to rely on Exxon or Wal-Mart to
hire you. And that's the spirit I try to teach to young entrepreneurs."

Following his stint as the rock-salesman,
Gray moved on to homemade body lotions and eventually his bigger
enterprises, which included prepaid phone cards. Along the way, he
became a media figure, with his own radio show, "Youth AM/FM," on which
he opined about issues related to youth entrepreneurship. He also wrote a
series of books, starting with "Reallionaire," published in 2005. He
also launched the Farrah Gray Foundation, which promotes youth
entrepreneurship among inner-city youth.Of
course, for every Farrah Gray, there's the countless number of failed
young entrepreneurs. The multimillionaire himself was forced to confront
challenges beyond just getting the financing for an idea. As a black
man, Gray says that he is regularly discriminated against. Just
recently, when a book of his was published in Russia, his picture was
taken off the cover. "I was OK with it, knowing it was a marketing
decision, and that the information would still get out."

Nevertheless, Gray has become the
millennial generation's poster child and a leading cheerleader for
striking it on your own, at as early an age as you'd like. Among his
high-profile backers is Bill Clinton. And according to research compiled
by the Kauffmann Foundation, which is a partner of the Farrah Gray
Foundation, Gray's story is indicative of a generational entrepreneurial
drive. From 2007 to 2010, roughly 40 percent of those aged 18 to 24
have expressed a desire to start their own business, if they haven't
already done so. The most recent data set for 2010 came from polling
over 5,000 young adults, with help from Harris Interactive Polls.

Leading commentators on the subject view
the trend as being a response to the instability caused by the
recession. Carol Sanford, CEO of InterOctave, has pioneered the use of
the term, "NextGenNow" leaders, in tribute to what she describes as the
generation's lack of patience regarding their time to lead.In
June, Sanford wrote an article for the Stanford Social Innovation
Review, entitled, "Now What? Young Leaders Are Changing the World By
Working for Themselves."

Among the people she profiles was Chris
Guillebeau, who has imported coffee from Jamaica and opened a small
publishing company in West Africa while he worked there as a medical
volunteer from 2002-06.Writing for Social Innovation, Sanford discussed a similar profile.
"NextGenNow leaders open themselves up to inventing what is needed in
each new situation and as opportunities reveal themselves. They never
look back to borrow from past practices or look sideways to borrow from
others," she writes, having conducted hundreds of interviews and
profiles of entrepreneurs in the young age bracket. "NextGenNow leaders
are not social entrepreneurs because they don't start with social or
environmental problems, and build businesses around them. They start
with and stay with their own drive and a unique vision."
With no new American Century and a promise of endless job security on
the horizon, educators across the country have begun preparing their
students for a professional environment in which they'll have to rely on
themselves.

Among the states looked at as having the
most dynamic statewide entrepreneurial training programs are Kentucky,
North Dakota and North Carolina. North Carolina's "Hop on the Bus!"
program allows students to compete for the top business plan, while
North Dakota's "Marketplace for Kids" provides a simulation of running a
business while also providing instruction."These
programs are growing," says Cathy Ashmore, the executive director of
the Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education (CEE) "You grow up
thinking how to get the job," she told AOL Jobs. "But people should
think how they should make the job. And that's what's now being taught."
The CEE was formed in 1981 in response to a challenge posed by Ronald
Reagan's first education secretary, Terrell Bell, to have all the
nation's vocational programs include entrepreneurial training. Thirty
years into its existence, the CEE is now joined by countless peer
organizations promoting youth-run business, and has even extended the
push into earlier stages of youth, well before the choice is made to
enter vocational programs.

While every program has its own set of lists and goals for the aspiring entrepreneur, many of them echo Gray's advice:Focus on your area of excellence, and find something that's easy for you but harder for someone else.
Find a niche market.
Ask yourself if you have a passion, because it's not just about supply and demand.
In its publication, Future CEO Starts, the CEE promotes its success
stories. From its most recent issue, 11-year old Hunter Romanko spoke of
his business plan which won a schoolwide competition at New Jersey's
Cedar Grove Middle School.
Romanko is profiled for coming up with a video game business, called
A.R. Games, which offers games that he created on CDs. Romanko was able
to turn a profit of nearly $104 for the 100 CDs he created, which
featured games inspired by Pac-Man and Fruit Thief.
In his essay, "Gaming, It's My Business," published in Future CEO
Starts, Romanko alluded to his initial struggle in coming up with a
business plan worth acting upon "I couldn't seem to come up with a
business that I could get really excited about," he writes

title

positive quotes

Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It's not a day when you lounge around doing nothing, it's when you've had everything to do and you've done it!Margaret Thatcher

To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children...to leave the world a better place...to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded. Ralph Waldo Emerson

Not the owner of many possessions will you be right to call happy: he more rightly deserves the name of happy who knows how to use the Gods' gifts wisely and to put up with rough poverty, and who fears dishonor more than death. Horace

True happiness is not attained through self-gratification, but through fidelity to a worthy purpose. Helen Keller

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about MICHAEL ANGELO BOSCH

( I AM PRETTY LEVEL FOR A SQUARE )

I am a simple man..strong in many ways but also fragile in other ways, born a sinner susceptible to weaknesses and temptation but through constant prayer I will stand strong ' I am a friend to positive people and a enemy to the negatives I won't walk behind you nor in front of you but side by side I will lend a hand when you extend a hand and as a fisherman I will not feed you fish but teach you how to fish so you can always feed yourself. ( THE GIFT OF GIVING )

age: 52

status: single

proud father & grand father

Traveling man

hobbies: love to travel read & 'write poetry fine foods music and I enjoy my alone time when I can get it.

religion & politics:

MY RACE IS UNIVERSAL MY RELIGION IS LOVE AND MY PURPOSE IS TO DO GOOD'